What really counts
by Malika Ghada Maram
Summary: Four girl meet on the Hogwarts Express and become best friends. At Hogwarts they are sorted into diferent Houses. They're about to learn what really counts in life. Please read it!
1. 1 On the Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: Anything and anyone you recognize is J.K. Rowling's. I made up anything you don't recognize.  
  
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On the Hogwarts Express  
  
By: little lisa  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * It was September 1st at King's Cross Station. Barkarna looked at her watch and saw that she still has a half an hour till the Hogwarts Express left. Since the book she was reading was packed away in her trunk, Barkarna decided to watch the people.  
  
It was the first time she had ever seen muggles and Barkarna couldn't figure out why her parents hated them so much. Sure, they were completely oblivious to the barrier to platform 9 3/4, and they seem like the brightest humans around, but that was no reason to automatically hate all of them, like her parents did.  
  
After about 5 minutes of this, just as Barkarna was getting bored, she saw a girl arguing with her parents. The girl looked rather plain, with dark blond hair and brown eyes, but Barkarna could tell she was a witch. As she watched her, she felt bad for the girl; she knew how adults could get sometimes. Barkarna was intrigued, so she got closer to listen.  
  
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"Now dear, you know that you don't have to go. No one at home will think any less of you if you back out now. You."  
  
"Mom" said Anushka, giving the word two syllables "You know I really want to go. You promised you would let me!"  
  
"All your mother is saying, is that it's not too late to change your mind." said Mr. Uliengue.  
  
"I've made up my mind and I'm not changing it. I'll be fine, Aunt Debbie was." replied Anushka.  
  
Mr. Uliengue's face stiffened at the sound of his somewhat eccentric sister's name.  
  
"We just want what's best for our little baby." said Mrs. Uliengue, letting her voice fade away, quivering. She was almost in tears.  
  
Anushka saw that the situation was getting very difficult. She looked around herself desperately looking for something to distract her parents. That's when she saw a girl with long, curly black hair and blue eyes walking towards her. Anushka had no doubt that the girl was a witch. As a matter of fact, she looked like she belonged to one of those pureblood families, with her pale skin, straight nose and thin lips.  
  
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Barkarna was torn between amusement and pity, as she watched the girl and her parents. She looked at her watch again and decided to head over to the train. As she looked one last time at the family, she noticed that the mother was on the verge of tears. The sound of crying women annoyed Barkarna to no end, so she decided to spare the poor girl. She thanked her lucky stars that her mother had left early. She shuddered to think about what her mother might say if she knew what her daughter was about to do.  
  
Barkarna quickly strode up to the family with her trolley and tapped the father of the shoulder.  
  
"Hogwarts Express?" she asked in a very businesslike way. "We should really get going, the train could leave any minute now."  
  
She grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her towards the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Luckily, the girl reacted quickly and followed Barkarna with her trolley before her parents could recover from the shock.  
  
"Hold on to your trolley and run right at the barrier." whispered Barkarna to the girl. When she saw the girl hesitate, she added, "What are you waiting for?"  
  
The girl nodded and took off. Barkarna gave her a few minutes and started after her.  
  
When she got to platform 9 3/4, she decided to her on the last wagon in the train. When she got in, she saw that the plain girl had already gotten there. The girl looked like she wanted to talk, so Barkarna quickly got out her book and started reading. She really wasn't in the mood for anymore conversation.  
  
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When Anushka saw the witch who had helped her come into her compartment, she wanted to thank her. The girl, though, had other plans. She promptly took out a book and started reading. Anushka was still debating whether or not to take out her own book, when another girl came into the compartment.  
  
The girl had light brown hair, combed into two neat braids, and green eyes. She had a slightly turned up nose that was covered in freckles and rosy cheeks. Everything in her outfit smacked of preppiness.  
  
Anushka tried gathering up the courage to introduce herself to the new girl, but she realized that the girl was a bit too occupied fixing her hair in a pocket mirror to pay much attention.  
  
As she heard the whistle blow, she turned her head to look out the window. She was surprised to see a girl still standing out there. The girl was tall and athletic looking, with curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She was surrounded by at least four other kids, who were all hanging on to her. As the whistle blew a second time, the girl broke away and started running towards the train with her trunk.  
  
"She won't make it on time!" yelled Anushka, as the train slowly started moving.  
  
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Kamilla was surprised to hear someone yell. She looked up and saw that the plainer of the two other girls in her compartment pointing out the window. Sure enough, there was a tall girl running towards the train. She probably wouldn't be able to get on the train without help. Kamilla decided to do something.  
  
"If I hold on to you, maybe you can help that girl." she said to the plain girl, as she jumped up and ran to the door.  
  
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Barkarna heard the conversation, but tried to ignore it. She was in no mood to help anyone else today. Then she looked at the two girls and saw how weak they looked. Not that she was all that strong, but another pair of hands would be useful.  
  
"I've already helped one person today, I can't kill me to help another." sighed Barkarna to herself, as she got up and went to the door.  
  
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Adeline was having a hard time saying goodbye to her brothers and sisters. Since her aunt left, 3 years ago, she had been like a mom to them. Her own mother had died giving birth to her youngest brother, Jeremy.  
  
"Don't go 'Lin!" cried Jeremy. "Yeah, don't go." echoed the other four. The two girls were crying like Jeremy. The twins would be, too, if they hadn't recently decided that they were too old to cry.  
  
"I have to!" yelled Adeline, barely holding back her own tears. "I'm really gonna miss you guys, but I have to go." Everyone was holding on to her and wouldn't let her go. Adeline was starting to get worried that she wouldn't have enough time to get on the train.  
  
Suddenly she heard a whistle. The Hogwarts Express was leaving! She tried desperately to make her brothers and sisters let go, but everyone just held on tighter. She stopped moving for a few seconds, to get her breath back, and she made one last attempt to get away. With one final burst of energy, she managed to escape. Adeline ran off with her trunk, yelling goodbye over her shoulder.  
  
She saw the train start moving and ran even faster. Just when she was getting really tired, she saw two girls in the last wagon trying to get her attention. Adeline ran towards them.  
  
As she got closer, Adeline saw another girl join the first two. She passed her trunk to one of them, then she grabbed on to the other two girls' hands. When they pulled her in, all four girls landed in a heap on the floor.  
  
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Kamilla was having mixed feelings about her idea. She was proud to have come up with an idea that really worked, but now her clothed were dirty and messy. She could have even broken a nail!  
  
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Kamilla was still checking her nails when she heard someone laughing. At first she was indignant, but it was a very contagious laughter and Kamilla found herself giggling too. As a matter of fact, the only girl who wasn't laughing was the pale, dark haired girl. The girl they had just helped got to her feet. She held out her hand to help the others up.  
  
"Thanks for helping me out there. I know I should have been paying more attention, but good-byes are so hard for me. I'm Adeline. What're your names?"  
  
"Hi! I'm Kamilla." answered Kamilla with a big smile of her face.  
  
" I'm Anushka." answered the girl with the dark blond hair shyly.  
  
"My name is Barkarna and you are welcome. Now may I get back to my book?" asked the dark haired girl coldly.  
  
Kamilla's mother had insisted that Kamilla learn other languages. Spanish happened to be one of those she only spoke a little of.  
  
"Your name is meat bar?" she asked. "Doesn't karna mean meat?"  
  
"No" snapped Barkarna, who had obviously also learned some Spanish. "Carne is meat. Barkarna was my grandmother's name. My dad decided to honor her by naming me after her. He never realized, or never cared, what a horrible name it is"  
  
"Oh, my parents did the same thing." said Anushka. "My name is Russian for Annie. My grandmother emigrated from Russia when she was little. But your name's not horrible. Wouldn't it be worse to have a really common name, like Patty or Sally?"  
  
"Oh! What a horrible thought!" cried Kamilla, shuddering, sounding completely horrified.  
  
"You would think that!" sneered Barkarna. "I'll bet you're from a really rich family. You look like it, with those ridiculous clothes and that turned up nose of yours."  
  
"Hey! That was entirely uncalled for!" said Adeline. "Now apologize."  
  
"Oh, I don't mind what she said about the clothes. You should have seen what I wore before I convinced my mom to let me decide what to wear. Pink and frilly dresses, it was a nightmare." said Kamilla quickly.  
  
"And who made you the judge anyway? What makes you think you can order me around?" said Barkarna angrily.  
  
"Sorry, it's sort of a habit, I didn't mean to yell." replied Adeline sheepishly.  
  
This got Anushka's attention. "Why is it a habit?"  
  
"It's sort of personal. Besides, it's a sort of long story. I don't think you'd be interested."  
  
Barkarna was about to say she agreed with that, but Anushka spoke first. "Well, if you don't want to talk about it, that's ok. But we have plenty of time and I sure don't have anything better to do." "Well, I guess so. Why don't we sit down somewhere first?"  
  
The girls all sat down on the nearest seat. Barkarna was about to pick up her book again, but for some reason, she stopped. Her mother would have had a fit, if she had seen her with girls like this. Then again, her mother would probably never find out. Barkarna decided to listen to the story.  
  
"Ok, well, I'm the oldest of 6 kids. After me come the twins, Michael and Richard, who are 9. Then come Melissa, who's 7; Carla, who's 6 and Jeremy is the youngest. My mom died five years ago, when Jeremy was born. My dad couldn't work and take care of all of us kids at the same time, so he asked my Aunt Jennifer to live with us. She was really nice, but I missed my mom a lot. About three years ago she got married and left to live with her husband. This left me in charge of everyone most of the time. With so many little kids, you can imagine how many fights there were. I always had to make them stop, I would never have gotten any rest if I hadn't." All of the girls were stunned at the matter of fact way Adeline stated all of this. Even Barkarna couldn't bring herself to be cold or nasty at this moment.  
  
"Wow, I mean I'm sorry, I. I."Anushka couldn't find anything to say.  
  
"Oh, don't be sorry! It's not your fault." said Adeline, laughing. She seemed to laugh a lot. "Besides, I'm ok with it now. I even like spending so much time with my brothers and sisters. I know some bothers and sisters don't get along, but they're my friends."  
  
"Well, I guess I'm one of those people that don't get along with their brothers. I have one younger brother, Mark, and he's horrible! He's always getting into my things and is just really annoying. He even tried to read my diary the other day! Luckily I caught him. I can't imagine what would have happened if he had read something." said Kamilla, looking horrified again.  
  
"Do you have to be so dramatic about everything? I really doubt your brother reading your diary would have been the end of the world." said Barkarna.  
  
Kamilla pretended not to notice and looked at Anushka. "How about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"  
  
"Yeah, I have a younger sister and an older brother. Phillip is always bothering me or making fun of me, but Devon is really sweet. She's only 2 years old and I love to play with her. Phillip and both of my parents are. what's the word again? Oh yeah, muggles. Maybe Devon will be a witch too someday." said Anushka.  
  
"What about you meat, I mean, Barkarna? What's your family like?" asked Adeline.  
  
Kamilla had to bite her lips to keep from giggling at what Adeline had said.  
  
"I am an only child and my parents are divorced. That is all anyone could need to know about me." answered Barkarna in a bored tone The way she said it left no doubt in the other girls' mind that that subject was closed. "Now if you don't mind, I'd really like to get back to my book now."  
  
"Oh, nobody's stopping you from reading. If you wanted to read you could have ignored us.." replied Adeline, a little irritated. "You don't have to get mad because we asked you a question."  
  
Barkarna pretended not to hear and picked up her book. When the others started talking again, she found herself listening to the conversation. She finally gave up trying to read. She put her book down in tome to hear the girls talking about Quidditch  
  
"I want to be a professional Quidditch player when I grow up." said Adeline "Of course, I'll have to make my houses team first. I've never really played Quidditch before, just sort of, with my brothers."  
  
"I read a little about Quidditch in a book I bought, it seems really dangerous. I don't know if I'd be brave enough to play that. I'm not even sure I want to learn how to fly, I was petrified when I learned how to ride a bike."  
  
"I know if I want to fly either. It can't be comfortable and just think how dirty you could get!" Kamilla was sounding horrified, once again.  
  
This time Barkarna controlled her voice and was careful with what she said. "Unless you fly through a dust cloud, you're not likely to get dirty. Besides, fly is so amazing, you wouldn't notice if you're dirty or uncomfortable."  
  
"Do you want to try and get in your house's Quidditch team, Barkarna?" Adeline was glad to find that she had something in common her dark-haired friend.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure, I never really thought about it. I don't think my mom would approve. but you never know, I might. But I don't have to chose now, we aren't allowed to play until second year, right?"  
  
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.During that train ride, the girls all made their first really friend. None of the girls had ever had a friend before. Sure, they knew other kids. They even played with them, but they never had a close friend, a best friend. Not someone they could really talk to. They talked until the train slowly rolled to a stop.  
  
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Ok, thank you so much for reviewing. I was about to stop writing this story. I tried to make the girls show their personalities more, but they sounded like they were 16 instead of 10 or 11. I hope this helps you know them a little better. If not, the next chapter should, it's about the sorting. I'm almost finished with it. Anyway, thanks again. 


	2. 2 The Sorting

Ok, if you didn't read the update to the first chapter, I advise you to do so before you read this chapter. Thank you RussellGrl15 and Rita Skeeter for your positive reviews, it was really nice to get a couple of them. And I hope this chapter helps you see their house characteristics more.  
  
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The Sorting  
  
by: little lisa  
  
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Finally the Hogwarts Express slowed down and stopped. The girls changed into their uniforms and got off. When they heard a deep voice yelling "Firs' years! Firs' years over here. Follow me!" they walked in a little clump over to the voice.  
  
An enormous man was standing at the edge of a lake. There were boats lined up by the shore. The big man was telling them to get in, but no more than 4 to a boat. The girl piled into one and waited.  
  
As they traveled across the lake, Anushka was able to appreciate the beautiful evening. When she saw Hogwarts, it reminded her so much of the castles she had imagined in her books, that she felt like she was going to wake up any second. Even though the other three had grown up in wizarding families, they still weren't prepared for Hogwarts.  
  
A strict looking woman greeted them when they got off the boats. She was standing in front of a large door. "I am Professor McGonagall. In a few moments I will lead you to the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into one of the four houses. There is Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffendor and Slytherin. These houses will be like your family for the seven years you stay at Hogwarts." The woman entered the door and left the first years to themselves.  
  
"What's this about being sorted?" asked Anushka. She felt very ignorant and left out at the moment.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure, my dad said something how your about personality and choices determine what house you're going to be in, but he never said how the teachers knew all that." said Adeline.  
  
"My mother told me they have a hat that."started Barkarna.  
  
At that moment, McGonagall came back out. "You may follow me now."  
  
All the first years walked after her, whispering nervously. Most of it stopped when they entered the Great Hall. It was so overwhelmingly big that everyone, even the kids from wizarding families, were speechless for a few moments. When they heard the Sorting Hat start to sing, they were all surprised. The nervousness started to fade away.  
  
It came back though, as soon as McGonagall started calling people up. One by one, the first years walked up to the hat and got sorted. Kamilla, Adeline, Barkarna and Anushka were so close together, hanging on to their friends, that they were practically standing on each other. Soon the first of them got called up.  
  
"Gallagher, Kamilla"  
  
Kamilla gave a quiet little scream when she heard her name being called.  
  
"I didn't think my name would be called so early." she said in a scared voice.  
  
As about a fourth of the first years had already been called, Barkarna sigh, a little impatiently, and gave Kamilla a push.  
  
Kamilla stumbled a little, then she straightened out and walked, almost bouncing to the stool. As she put the hat on, her hands only trembled a little.  
  
"Let's see here.mmm, you're quite clever, and you have a great mind, even if you haven't had much of a chance to prove it. Ahh, and you want to prove just that, you don't like people thinking you're not smart. Being in Ravenclaw will help make you see what you can do. Yes, that's best.  
  
"RAVENCLAW"  
  
Kamilla's face broke out into a big smile. She waved at her friends and went to the Ravenclaw table. She figured that they would join her there soon. She was too busy looking for her friends to notice that there were already five other first year Ravenclaw girls. After a few minutes, it was the next girl's turn.  
  
"Morgan, Adeline"  
  
Adeline took a deep breath and walked steadily up to the hat. When she put it on, she heard a small voice in her ear.  
  
"My, you're quite a courageous girl, taking care of your brothers and sisters like that, even by Gryffindor standards. And you have a very good sense of right and wrong. There's no doubt that you belong in.  
  
GRYFFENDOR!!"  
  
As brave as Adeline was, she was very surprised at the voice in the hat. It all happened so fast she didn't have time to think much about it's choice. She got off the chair and walked to her new table, still dazed.  
  
She wasn't the only one. Kamilla gasped with surprise when she heard the hat announce that her friend belonged in Gryffindor. Why wasn't Adeline in Ravenclaw with her?  
  
Barkarna was also worried. She knew what house she was going to be sorted into, but none of her friends were going there. She tried to convince herself that she didn't need them, even as she held Anushka's hand to comfort her.  
  
It wasn't too long before the next of them was called up.  
  
"Snape, Barkarna"  
  
"A Snape, huh? Ahh, but you're not like most of them. You do have ambition and you've been taught how to survive in Slytherin all you're life. Hmm, you won't do everything to get what you want, will you? You will do a lot, but not everything. And you seem very attached to your new friends. This might make it difficult for you to be in Slytherin, but a challenge will do you good."  
  
"I really didn't expect anything else, but what am I going to do without them?" thought Barkarna, more than just a little upset.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure something our. Besides, you're mother wouldn't like anything else, would she? Hmm, well, I'm not completely pleased, but it will do.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
Barkarna put on her best cold, uncaring face, as she walked to the Slytherin table. Now was not a time to be worried about anything. It was important she make a good enough impression on the others of her house to be left alone, showing any weakness would be bad.  
  
Anushka watched as her new friends were sorted into different houses. As if that wasn't enough, now she was standing all alone. She was so upset, that she almost didn't hear Professor McGonagall call her name.  
  
"Uliengue, Anushka"  
  
As Anushka walked to the hat, she felt sure she new what people being led to the guillotine must have felt like. She didn't like to talk to strangers; she wasn't even sure why she had talked to Adeline and the others. Now she was going to have to talk to more strangers? And what about her friends? From what she had seen and heard so far, you didn't talk to people from other houses unless you needed to. Did that mean that she wouldn't be able to talk to her friends?  
  
Anushka put the Sorting Hat on, feeling very lonely.  
  
"Oh, so you're Anushka. You friends have all thought about you, I was wondering when you'd be here. Let's see.you're a loyal friend and you're a very hard worker. You don't work hard to impress people or to prove something, you just like working hard. You'll fit right in with Hufflepuff. And don't worry about you're friends, I'm sure you'll all find a way to stay together. You'll be happiest in.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
Anushka was a little confused by what the hat told her about her friends. She thought about it as she walked to the Hufflepuff table. She sat down next to one of the other first years, a girl with dark brown eyes and two black pigtails.  
  
"Hi, my name is Helena." she said with a big smile on her face. "Isn't this place great? I've been so exited about coming here ever since I got my letter. I tried to imagine it, but this is even better than what I had imagined. I guess we're going to be roommates now."  
  
"My name is Anushka." She said this with a shy and slightly distracted smile. There was something about this dark, excited girl that made her feel a little better, but at the same time reminded her of Kamilla. This girl seemed nice enough, but she missed her new friends already.  
  
Helena didn't seem to notice that Anushka wasn't paying much attention. She just kept on talking.  
  
"You know, I can't wait to."  
  
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The four girls went to their new dormitories for the night, hoping to feel better in the morning.  
  
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Ok, I hope you liked it. Please review again! 


	3. Changes

Wohoo!! I got a review! Thanks Evilstrawberry! Oh, and if you've read the 5th Harry Potter book (and I'm assuming you have), then you'll know that the sorting hat does mention that there should be more unity between the houses. But I came up with this idea before I knew about it, so I'm very proud. Oh, and this is happening during Harry's 5th year.  
  
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Changes  
  
by: little lisa  
  
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The girls had no idea how lucky they were to be first years that particular year. Certain thing were going to change at Hogwarts. It seemed the gods of luck were smiling at them.  
  
(A few months earlier)  
  
"There has been an increase in anti-muggle activity, disappearances and other occurrences that marked Voldemort's rise in power. I am not sure whether this is the work of his supporters or someone new. Either way, I believe there is something we must do."  
  
Every teacher in the room flinched as Dumbledore said that name. There were also a couple of sighs. When he called a meeting so soon before school, everyone assumed it was only a small problem, the kind that happen right before school starts every year. It had been so easy to ignore this activity.  
  
"Dumbledore, this is a school. There is not much we can do, unless you plan on making an army of aurors out of the students." answered Professor Snape in his usual greasily sarcastic voice.  
  
Dumbledore ignored this remark and continued.  
  
"I believe part of what made it so easy for Voldemort of create the terror in everyone was the lack of trust between many wizards and witches, and the open hostility between others. I also believe that, despite the fact that this is the way it has been for centuries, it is the rivalry between the houses in this school that helps that later on in life. I think we should try to have better inter-house relationships."  
  
"Yes, we all agree on that Dumbledore, but we've never found a way to actually make it happen." said Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Well, I have a few ideas, and I'll welcome any and all suggestions. First, I believe all classes should be held with at least two different houses. A class or two a week where all four houses are together wouldn't be bad. Maybe a sport class of some sort. And we should have more places where students can talk and play, not just the commons of the houses. Oh, and one more thing," said Dumbledore, looking around at all the teachers. His eyes rested only a fraction of a second more on Professor Snape. "There must be absolutely no favoritism. Not only do you have to accept friendships between houses, you have to encourage them."  
  
The teachers started arguing about the best way to accomplish what Dumbledore had suggested, while the Headmaster sat back, looking at everyone.  
  
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I know this is a really short chapter, but I'm sort of stuck. Any ideas are welcome. I'm trying to come up with ideas, so please bear with me. I don't expect any reviews for such a small chapter, but I would appreciate it. 


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